Piano case structure



Feb. 18, 1941. P. M. GAzLAY PIANO CASE STRUCTURE Filed July 3, 1940 Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIANO CASE STRUCTURE corporation of Illinois Application July 3, 1940, Serial No. 343,677

1 Claim.

My invention relates to case structure for pianos, particularly pianos of the spinet type. Heretofore in such piano case structures the end portions were each an assembly of separate parts,

namely, the body end wall, the keyboard end wall or cheek, and a spindle leg extending down from the front of the cheek, and these separate parts were secured together as by jointing, or by brace or bracket structures and cross pieces,

or by other means. Such assembly construction is comparatively expensive, and the various means secured the parts together are apt to loosen, and the various corners introduced by the securing means increase the cost of nishing and polishing.

'I'he important object of my invention is to materially simplify and reduce the cost of production of the end portions of piano casings of the spinet type, and I accomplish this by making each end portion an integral structure to provide an end Wall for the case body, the end Wall for the keyboard, and a leg. In accordance with my invention I preferably build up a panel structure of laminations of suitable material such as Wood, then applying to the sides of this panel the outer finish Wood layers, and then sawing off the panel to the proper form to provide the case body end Wall, the cheek wall and the leg. After such sawing the edge surfaces of the structure are smoothed off and iinish strips or moldings are applied thereto, and then the nal structure can be readily surfaced, nished and polished ready for assembly with the case body.

35 On the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a piano to which my invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of one of the end portions of the piano case;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on plane III-III Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on plane IV-IV of Figure 2.

The piano case comprises the body portion B, the keyboard portion K extending forwardly from the body portion, the top portion T, and the end portions E each comprising an end wall part I0 for the body B, an end wall or cheek part II for the keyboard portion, and a leg I2. Hereto- 50 fore the walls I0 and II and the legs were separate pieces jointed or otherwise secured together, but in accordance with my invention these walls and legs are all parts of an integral structure.

In order to make these integral case end struc- 55 tures as light as possible but of suillcient rigidity and strength, multi-ply or laminated construction is employed. Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the panel blank for an integral case end structure E is of generally rectangular shape, as indicated by the dotted lines Figure 2, and is built up of 5 any desired number of laminations. As shown on Figures 3 and 4 there is an inner lamination or layer I3, and outer layers or laminations I4. These laminations may be of any suitable Wood and they are secured together by gluing 10 and with the grain of the inner and outer layers running in opposite or at right angled directions so as to produce the necessary strength and rigidity against warping or distortion. The ornamental or veneering layers I5 are then apl5 plied, as by gluing, to the opposite faces ofthe panel, and then this built up structure is carefully trimmed as by cutting or sawing, the upper front corner I6 being cut away for the desired edge line, and the portion Il is cut out, so that 20 after such sawing and trimming the structure will provide the rectangular end Wall part Iii for the case body B, the end Wall or cheek part II for the keyboard portion K, and the leg I2, the leg being spaced forwardly from the wall 25 part l0 by the gap I8 left when the portion Il was cut out of the panel blank.

After the end E has thus been formed the edges thereof are trued and smoothed by planing or sanding, and veneering or molding strips 30 I9 are secured to the edges, the finished structure being then all in one plane and presenting smooth, 'uniform surfaces which can be readily treated and polished for final finish and ornamental appearance. With my improved construction, corner brackets, braces, cross pieces or other securing and strengthening parts are eliminated and the cost of material, construction and assembly is thus material reduced without sacriiicing any strength or rigidity. The ends E being 40 integral and substantially uniplanar, their securing to the case body and keyboard parts can be more readily accomplished.

I have disclosed a practical embodiment of the features of my invention, but I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown and described, as changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows:

A piano case comprising a rectangular vertical body part, and a keyboard part extending forwardly from the front of said body part, a pair of end members each dening an integrally formed uniplanar laminated structure which deeach formed to provide the leg portion extending upwardly from its free end to merge with the keyboard end wall portion and with the front face of said keyboard end wall portion being in vertical alignment with the front face of the 5 leg.

PAUL M. GAZLAY. 

